NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Officials with the North Charleston Police Department on Tuesday released dash camera footage from the car of a former officer charged with DUI.
Tuesday’s release of the video follows an outcry from community leaders, media outlets and North Charleston residents looking for answers — like why the officer’s squad car was in Colleton County.
On Saturday the South Carolina Highway Patrol arrested North Charleston Police officer Nicholas Lomma, 25, for DUI in Colleton County. Officials say Lomma was driving a North Charleston issued patrol car at the time of the accident.
The video does not show much, a swerving police car, music playing the background and later a car in a ditch. The video does not actually show the officer crashing the car into the ditch.
North Charleston City Council Public Safety Committee Chair Bob King said he is asking for answers. As of 4 p.m. on Tuesday King said he had not been briefed on the incident and had several questions that remain to be answered.
Meanwhile, council member Ed Astle says information has been handled sensitively due to personnel issues.
“I understand what they’re doing,” Astle said.
Personnel issues
Officials have said they are unable to share the information on why Lomma was in Colleton county because that information was related to his termination from the police department.
In a statement released by the North Charleston Police Department, effective January 31, 2011, the department announced that Nicolas A. Lomma was no longer employed by the City of North Charleston Police Department.
Lomma had been employed with the department since June 2008.
According to state trooper Sonny Collins, Lomma was at the scene of an accident on Bennetts Point Road in the Green Pond are at around 8 a.m. Following the accident, officials say Lomma was taken to the Colleton Medical Center, and was then transported to the Colleton County Jail. Jail officials say Lomma posted about $1,000 in bail and was released.
North Charleston Police Chief Jon Zumalt has agreed to an interview. Check back here for updates and ABC News 4.
